Placopecten clintonius pelecypod from the Yorktown formation of Virginia

This shell was among a number of Chesapectin jeffersonius specimens and it caught my eye due to the difference. A little research leads me to believe that this is a Placopecten clintonius pelecypod as it exists within the Yorktown formation at the same horizon as C. jeffersonius. The shell is smaller than C. jeffersonius and the radial ribs are both more numerous and finer.

This specimen came from the Yorktown Formation, which is Neogene in age (Pliocene epoch, Zanclean stage), along the James River in Virginia.

Chesapectin jeffersonius pelecypod from the Yorktown formation of Virginia

I acquired this shell at a rock/fossil/mineral show this past spring from someone who collected it themselves. It's a Chesapectin jeffersonius pelecypod from the Yorktown formation (Neogene, Pliocene epoch, Zanclean stage) of Virginia and was found along the James River.  The shell is enormous and I can just imagine what the scallops would have tasted like! It's only a single valve, I'm not sure if it is the left or the right but was a host to some epibionts. There are large barnacles (Balanus concavus), barnacles spats and some corals (Septastrea marylandica). All in all it's a terrific specimen that gives evidence of the environment that it lived in.

Shell exterior

Shell interior

I think these small holes are the traces from the boring sponge Cliona sp.

A better view of the huge barnacles

and some shots of the corals.

Corals with Cliona sp. boring sponge traces

Additional fossils from Lusters Gate

I wrote the previous post several months after I had visited the site near Lusters Gate northeast of Blacksburg, VA. Just a week ago I was breaking apart some of the shale that I had brought back with me and found a few more fossils.

The first fossil I found was this snail. It's pretty tiny and not well preserved so I don't think I will be able to positively ID it.

The next fossil is a internal mold of a brachiopod. Again, the fossil is so small and in poor condition.

This is a cephalon from a trilobite (which is what I wanted to find when I went to the site in the first place).

The trilobite is likely a Ampyxina powelli (Raymond, 1920) as ID'd by the helpful members of the Fossil Forum.

The above specimens came from a roadcut along Route 785 near Lusters Gate, Montgomery county, Virginia. The cut is listed as site #2 in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. The Liberty Hall formation is dated to the middle Ordovician Mohawkian stage and is roughly equivalent to the Shippensburg and Chambersburg Limestones in PA. It is below the Lexington Limestone of Kentucky and is considered a part of the Black River-Trenton group in NY and Ontario. 

Fossils from Lusters Gate, VA.

This past April I took a trip through Virginia and West Virginia exploring some sites that were listed in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. One of the sites came with a recommendation from a couple of friends on the Fossil Forum. It is a roadcut northeast of Blackburg, VA near the village of Lusters Gate. Below is a view of the roadcut which you can see is very overgrown.

This shows the most obvious exposure of shale and also evidence of collecting by others. I spent about half a hour picking at the rocks looking for any of the trilobites that are known to be found here.

I didn't have much luck with the Trilobites but I did find some Climatograptus sp. graptolites on some of the bedding planes. Graptolites are primite animals that formed colonial structures similar to coral and bryozoan but they often floated in the currents rather than cement themselves to a substrate. They are found primarily in the lower Paleozoic but survived until the middle carboniferous.

This rock is interesting in that it has a large number of the graptolite fossils but also some stringy looking traces. Perhaps they were part of a large colony that was held together by the "strings".

Graptolites are hemichordates which means they have a primitive tube with nerves for part of their lives. It's thought that they are a connection between vertebrates and invertebrates (more specifically echinoderms) and came from a similar common ancestor. (Wikipedia)

The above specimens came from a roadcut along Route 785 near Lusters Gate, Montgomery county, Virginia. The cut is listed as site #2 in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. The Liberty Hall formation is dated to the middle Ordovician Mohawkian stage and is roughly equivalent to the Shippensburg and Chambersburg Limestones in PA. It is below the Lexington Limestone of Kentucky and is considered a part of the Black River-Trenton group in NY and Ontario.

Enterolasma (Streptolasma) stricta from the Lickling Creek formation

This past April I took a trip through Virginia and West Virginia exploring some sites that were listed in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. One of the more productive sites was in the Licking Creek formation, which is lower Devonian in age (Lockhovian to Pragian stage), where all the fossils were replaced by quartz and could be found eroded loose out of the rock.

A coral that was somewhat common was Enterolasma (Streptolasma) stricta.

The fact that it had been replaced by quartz and eroded out of the rock meant the septa in the calice were well preserved and detailed.

The above specimen came from a roadcut along US route 220 in Highland county, Virginia. The cut is listed as site #16 in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. The Licking Creek formation is equivalent to the Shriver Chert member of the Old Port formation in Pennsylvania and the Birdsong formation in Tennessee which means that the fossils are part of the Helderbergian fauna.

Costellirostra singularis from the Licking Creek formation

This past April I took a trip through Virginia and West Virginia exploring some sites that were listed in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. One of the more productive sites was in the Licking Creek formation, which is lower Devonian in age (Lockhovian to Pragian stage), where all the fossils were replaced by quartz and could be found eroded loose out of the rock.

I think the specimen below is the brachiopod Costellirostra peculiaris based on this link from the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History's website.  Edit 6/2/15: Since doing some collecting in the lower Devonian of NY I believe that this should be called Costellirostra singularis.

Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

Closer view of the fine costae decorating the surface of the shell.

The above specimen came from a roadcut along US route 220 in Highland county, Virginia. The cut is listed as site #16 in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. The Licking Creek formation is equivalent to the Shriver Chert member of the Old Port formation in Pennsylvania and the Birdsong formation in Tennessee which means that the fossils are part of the Helderbergian fauna.

Favosites conicus (?) from the Licking Creek formation

This past April I took a trip through Virginia and West Virginia exploring some sites that were listed in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. One of the more productive sites was in the Licking Creek formation, which is lower Devonian in age (Lockhovian to Pragian stage), where all the fossils were replaced by quartz and could be found eroded loose out of the rock.

I only found a couple of pieces of Favosites type coral at the site, and I think they can be called Favosites conicus.

Specimen #1, this is the base or bottom of the specimen

Exterior profile, note that the rounded, mound like shape of the fossil and the flat bottom. This is typical of Favosites conicus.

Interior profile

Specimen #2, Top. This could be a different species but I don't know for sure.

Profile, this has less of an obvious mound shape but it's still rounded.

Base or bottom, Note that it appears the coral colonized a brachiopod shell with the hinge line along the top of the specimen as displayed.

A specimen of Favosites conicus from the Yale Peabody collection.

All of the above specimens came from a roadcut along US route 220 in Highland county, Virginia. The cut is listed as site #16 in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. The Licking Creek formation is equivalent to the Shriver Chert member of the Old Port formation in Pennsylvania and the Birdsong formation in Tennessee which means that the fossils are part of the Helderbergian fauna.

Eatonia medialis from the Licking Creek formation

This past April I took a trip through Virginia and West Virginia exploring some sites that were listed in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. One of the more productive sites was in the Licking Creek formation, which is lower Devonian in age (Lockhovian to Pragian stage), where all the fossils were replaced by quartz and could be found eroded loose out of the rock.

The fossil today is what I think is Eatonia medialis. It is a somewhat common fossil at the site they were collected although more often as fragmented individual valves. Below are a couple of whole specimens that I found.

Specimen #1
Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

Specimen #2, note the presence of an Auloporid coral that has colonized part of the shell.
Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Left profile

Right profile

Closer view of the Auloporid

Specimen #3, single pedicle valve

Interior of pedicle valve

Closer view

All of the above specimens came from a roadcut along US route 220 in Highland county, Virginia. The cut is listed as site #16 in the book "Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States" by Jasper Burns. The Licking Creek formation is equivalent to the Shriver Chert member of the Old Port formation in Pennsylvania and the Birdsong formation in Tennessee which means that the fossils are part of the Helderbergian fauna.